It was the first comprehensive scholarly investigation of the populism currently present in Germany: the study by Hans Vorländer, Maik Herold and Steven Schäller about the ‘Patriotic Europeans against the Islamisation of the Occident’ (Patriotische Europäer gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes: PEGIDA). Now a revised, updated and expanded edition in English entitled “PEGIDA and New Right-Wing Populism in Germany” has been published by Palgrave Macmillan – one of the most prestigious British publishing houses. Thus, a worldwide audience now has access to the findings of the three Dresden political scientists.

The volume deals with the development of the PEGIDA movement, which began as a protest about a multitude of different circumstances and in the course of the so-called refugee crisis in 2015 established a clearly xenophobic and Islamophobic image. Meanwhile, however, the attention being paid to the protests has considerably decreased. The movement, which has been lacking clear direction in terms of content since autumn 2016, is now struggling to retain significance and attract public attention. What remains from PEGIDA is its impact on the German New Right. The movement revealed the ferment in society, from which a clearly defined potential of support for right-wing populist politics arose throughout Germany. The party Alternative for Germany (AfD) absorbed and converted this potential into electoral successes. And PEGIDA must be viewed as having paved the way for this development.

The authors provide a broad panorama and describe the attitudes and motivations of the protestors, the reactions from politicians, the media and society, and the European network of right-wing populists. In addition, data from political cultural research is presented and compared with the knowledge gained about the demonstrators in Dresden. The example of PEGIDA enables the study of the emergence of right-wing populism in Germany, as well as populist protest movements throughout Europe.

Further information
https://www.palgrave.com/de/book/9783319674940

http://www.springer.com/de/product-marketing-tool/flyer/9783319674940?downloadType=PRODUCTFLYER

Authors
Hans Vorländer holds the Chair of Political Theory and History of Political Thought at TU Dresden, Germany. He is also founding director of the Dresden based Center for the Study of Constitutionalism and Democracy (ZVD) and of the Mercator Forum for Migration and Democracy (MIDEM).

Maik Herold is research associate at the Mercator Forum for Migration and Democracy (MIDEM) at TU Dresden, Germany.

Steven Schäller is research associate at the Chair Chair of Political Theory and History of Political Thought at TU Dresden, Germany.

Media inquiries:
Prof. Dr. Hans Vorländer
Tel.: +49 (0) 351 463-35811